Imagine you’ve found the perfect plugin.
You’ve been searching on the WordPress plugin repository (also known as the plugin directory) for the last 20 minutes, and finally found the plugin that provides exactly the functionality you want on your WordPress website.
You’ve taken the time to:
- Read the plugin description
- View the screenshots
- Read the FAQ
- Check the reviews
- Confirm the plugin was updated recently
Good to go, right?
Wait!
Before that last step of installing the plugin, there’s one more important item you want to confirm.
Check whether the plugin is compatible with your version of WordPress.
If the plugin isn’t compatible with recent versions of WordPress, you’ll want to look for another plugin.
How do you find WordPress version compatibility for a plugin?
The WordPress repository shows compatibility for each plugin, given the plugin developer has added the information to their plugin.
You’ll find the info on the plugin’s home page, where the Last Updated, Active Installations, etc. information is displayed. Look for the Tested up to info.
But what about months, or even years, after you installed a plugin? How can you check for compatibility?
That’s where the Better Plugin Compatibility Control plugin can help.
Better Plugin Compatibility Control
With the Better Plugin Compatibility Control plugin, you can quickly view compatibility of each installed WordPress plugin.
No more going to each plugin site to verify the WordPress version compatibility. Nice!
Why I Like It
With the unexpected announcement that the final release of WordPress 5.0 was targeted for December 6, 2018, I needed a quick way to check my site and my client sites for plugin compatibility.
I didn’t want to visit each plugin site.
And I didn’t want to create my own spreadsheet or database for managing the plugin info.
Here are a few more reasons why I like Better Plugin Compatibility Control:
- Constantly maintained and updated
- Straightforward and easy to use
- Available in 11 languages
- Rated highly, above 4 stars, in the repository
How the Plugin Works
Once the Better Plugin Compatibility Control plugin is installed and activated, you’ll find WordPress version compatibility info on the same line as the Deactivate option for each plugin.
The WordPress version compatibility information is populated from a text file with version info.
Plugin developers update the text file each time they release a new plugin version.
Here’s a screenshot showing the list of plugins with WordPress version compatibility info:
Easy to read!
What You Need to Know
Usually the plugin displays all the correct WordPress version info.
But, sometimes the plugin doesn’t. That can happen when the plugin developer hasn’t updated the text file with the version info.
While developers are encouraged to update the version text file, sometimes it’s forgotten.
And then there other situations, when Better Plugin Compatibility Control displays a version different from the repository.
From what I understand, it’s because Better Plugin Compatibility Control gathers the info from the text file and not directly from the repository.
Which is what happened to me for the Contact Form 7 Honeypot plugin. Better Plugin Compatibility Control showed WordPress 4.9.4 compatibility, but the repository description displayed 4.9.8 compatibility.
For plugins that aren’t showing the most recent WordPress version, I recommend you choose the View Details option for the plugin in the plugin list to confirm WordPress version.
Summary
Save time checking the WordPress compatibility for your plugins with the Better Plugin Compatibility Control.
It’s quick to set up, and it’s a lot easier than checking each plugin individually.
Be aware you may need to use View Details for plugins showing they’re compatible with older WordPress versions.
Have you used the Better Plugin Compatibility Control plugin? Found another method to confirm WordPress version compatibility? Share your thoughts in the comments.
